The present invention relates to a vehicle wiper device for wiping a windshield or the like and a vehicle equipped with such a vehicle wiper device.
As a vehicle wiper device used in a vehicle such as an automobile, a known wiper device pivots a wiper arm and a wiper blade about a pivot axis. The wiper blade is coupled to the wiper arm so as to maintain a constant position relative to the wiper arm. In addition to such a wiper device, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 2-80054 discloses a so-called semi-pantograph type or pantograph type wiper device that changes the position of the wiper blade relative to the wiper arm when performing a wiping operation.
The semi-pantograph type or pantograph type vehicle wiper device includes a sub-arm in addition to the wiper arm. The sub-arm is supported by the vehicle body so as to be pivotal about an axis that differs from that of the wiper arm. Further, the sub-arm extends along the wiper arm. The wiper blade and the sub-arm each have a distal portion. A wiper plate is arranged coupled by a coupling member to the distal portions of the wiper arm and the sub-arm so that the wiper arm is pivotal to each distal portion of the wiper arm and sub-arm. Thus, pivoting of the wiper arm cooperatively pivots the sub-arm and accordingly changes the position (angle) of the wiper blade relative to the wiper arm. This allows for a wiping range (substantially enlarged range), which differs from a simple semicircular shape. In a wiper device that pivots the wiper arm and the wiper blade about the same pivot axis, at a reversing position located near the pillar of the vehicle, a distal portion of the wiper blade becomes closer to the pillar than its basal portion. In other words, the wiper blade moves to a position at which its basal portion is more distant from the pillar than its distal portion. This may produce an unwiped area in the windshield near the basal portion. In the wiper device that includes the sub-arm, however, the position of the wiper blade relative to the wiper arm is varied so that the wiping range reaches a position extending along the pillar (one of the reversing positions of the wiper blade). This allows for reduction in the unwiped area.
However, in the wiper device that includes the sub-arm, the sub-arm is arranged along the wiper arm and extended to the wiper blade. This affects the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle. Further, in addition to the wiper arm, the sub-arm when driven also traverses the driver's front field of view. This adds to interference with the field of view.